Samsung has confirmed that it is set to release a new mobile processor in 2012 that it says puts the power of a PC in a phone. The reason for that claim is the sheer speed on offer as it will be a dual-core chip running at 2GHz.

The current range of smartphones on the market rely on mobile processors typically running between 800MHz and 1.2GHz in both single and dual-core configurations. Samsung’s new chip would significantly push up the performance of any handset using it over what we experience today, and paves the way for even more functionality or just an improved Android experience at a higher resolution.

Little is known about the new chip other than its speed. It is expected to carry the name Exynos which Samsung already uses for some of its mobile processors. A good example of that it the Exynos (GT-i9100) — a 1.2GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 chip found in the Galaxy S II.

The existing Exynos 4210 architecture can be seen below and already offers a wealth of features including 3D, 1080p video, HDMI out, and triple-display support. The 2GHz will surely offer a similar feature set and most likely extends past previous generations.

The good news for consumers is Samsung isn’t keeping the processor just for its own devices. The company intends to offer it to third-party manufacturers meaning we could see an influx of 2GHz smartphones arriving in 2010, and who knows, possibly tablets running the new chip too.

While it’s great to hear that Samsung is breaking the 2GHz barrier, Qualcomm already has the march on them. In February the company announced its plans for the next Snapdragon processor which will run at 2.5GHz and offer single, dual, and quad-core options.

In both cases that’s a serious amount of performance on offer, but you do have to wonder what these new chips will do to the battery life of smartphones and tablets running them. Although low-power, they will really eat into battery life unless some more power-saving breakthroughs have been made.

I think the next major update we see after this won’t be speed, instead ARM will roll out a new processor design for these manufacturers to take advantage of. At the same time Intel should finally be in a position to offer up an Atom chip as a real competitor to ARM’s current dominance of the market.

Reader Comments

“… The company intends to offer it to third-party manufacturers meaning we could see an influx of 2GHz smartphones arriving in 2010, and who knows, possibly tablets running the new chip too.”

Huh?

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Faster chips just what we need…NOT!! Battery life on some of these new phones is ridiculous. Unless someone comes up with a revolutionary new battery that offers some seriously impressive battery life you’ll be charging your phone every couple hrs. that or turning off all but your basic features just to get through the day.